Sports stats



Northwoods Green Bay Rockers

Bullfrogs Blast into Finale against Loggers

August 7, 2015 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Green Bay Rockers News Release


Robb Paller of the Green Bay Bullfrogs
Robb Paller of the Green Bay Bullfrogs
(Green Bay Rockers)

Green Bay, WI- No one can beat these Bullfrogs (41-28) right now. Carrying a four-game win streak to the last home regular season game of the season, Green Bay hosts the Loggers (38-30) for game two at 7:05PM. The Bullfrogs are 3-4 against La Crosse this season.

Tonight is Cellcom Fan Appreciation Night featuring the Festival Foods Cart.

After Madison and Green Bay's victories yesterday, the Bullfrogs still have a chance to host in the playoffs starting August 10th. Madison has four games remaining, three against the Loggers. Green Bay has three games remaining including a weekend pair against the Rafters.

If the Bullfrogs can win their remaining three games and Madison finishes with a record of 2-2 or worse, Green Bay will host the Mallards while the Loggers play Kenosha at Simmons Field.

The Mallards are also 2.5 games behind the Kingfish for first place in the South Division second half race. Kenosha hosts the Growlers tonight.

Lind Leads Bullfrogs To 7-4 Win

Luke Lind dialed up seven strong innings of two run baseball behind a Bullfrogs offense that scored runs in five separate innings. And for the second straight game, the offensive output was seven runs.

After Lind carved up Mason McCoy (Iowa), Brock Lundquist (LBSU), and Will Savage (Columbia), in order in the first, the dynamic duo of Logan Taylor (Louisville) and Robb Paller (Columbia) rang the bell early.

Taylor singled against starter Nolan Gromacki (Missouri) in the first inning on an 0-2 count. That signaled more great things to come as Taylor stole second and Paller hit him home.

An offense heavy La Crosse team tied it up in the third on a solo home run by Alex Merritt (North Florida). He was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in the game.

Danny Rosenbaum (Lousiville) helped give Green Bay back the lead after he lined a two-out RBI base hit off of Gromacki's knee as the ball shot all the way to right field.

Gromacki continued to pitch as the Loggers tied the game again in the away portion of the fifth inning thanks to a Chris Baker (Washington) RBI hit.

Green Bay captured the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth after Caleb Ratzman (Illinois State) stole second, swiped third, and Robb Paller's sacrifice fly to left field and error by Jordan Zimmerman (Michigan State) made it 3-2 Bullfrogs.

Behind Lind, the Bullfrogs' Ratzman contributed to the lead some more, this time with the bat. His RBI single passed an outstretched Jordan Pearce (Nevada) to right field scored Ray Greco (UW-Stevens Point) and Logan Taylor followed up with his third hit of the evening, a two RBI line drive as the Bullfrogs went up 6-2.

Green Bay would add another run in the seventh and the Loggers put up two in the eighth but fell up short of a rally as Matt De La Rosa (Lenoir Rhyne) shut the door in the ninth inning.

It was the Bullfrogs fourth straight win, their second in a row against La Crosse at Joannes, and set up the bullpen for the final three regular season home games with Lind's lengthy outing.

Luke Lind (4-1) picked up his third straight win, Gromacki (2-4) the loss, and De La Rosa (3SV) with yet another save.

Ratzman Moves Toward Stolen Base Record; Pitching Perfection

On July 29th, Luke Lind was inserted back into the starting rotation. In the last two starts he has totaled 12 1/3IP/4ER/10H/12K-2BB.

Lind's start last night was his longest outing of the season and of his college baseball career including two season at North Dakota State. And it was the first time he picked up a win against a team with an overall record of .500 or better.

Lind's dominant pitching is a strong indicator that he might be made available for the playoffs on August 10th, most likely as a bullpen option. He tossed 90 pitches yesterday and is required to have at least four days of rest.

Clayton Uselman (LHP/Madison College) makes the start tonight. He's a strike-throwing left-hander that put together a respectable start his last time out against the Growlers. In a 3-4 loss, Uselman logged 5IP/3R/8H/4K-0BB.

As exemplified by a low walk total, although Uselman has been hittable, his ability to stay around the strike zone will allow him to become another pitcher capable of going five-seven innings per start.

Speed kills. And the Bullfrogs Logan Taylor and Caleb Ratzman each stole two bags yesterday, catalyzing a tough night for La Crosse's prospect catcher, Luis Trevino (Navarro JC).

Ratzman, who now has 39 stolen bases, is only six bases away from tying the record for the single season record held by Green Bay's Daniel Robertson (45-2007) and Duluth's Joey Bonadonna (45-2007).

The Winneconne, WI native has more of a chance to get this done because of more time in the starting lineup at designated hitter.

Taylor is not far behind in the stolen bases department with 33, and might have had his own opportunity for the record had he played a Northwoods League game before June 13th.

Taylor also has three, three-hit games in a row with a total of five RBI and six stolen bases in the time frame. Overall, Taylor has a .320 AVG (56-for-175) with a .402 on-base percentage.

And for the second time the Bullfrogs dramatically shifted their infield last night. Ray Greco, who also had a hit and run, started at third, with De La Rosa at short stop, Celsi at second base, and Rosenbaum at first base.

In the ninth inning, with De La Rosa on the bump, Kozlowski came in a third with Greco at shortstop. What could have been a tough end to the year with the losses of Jack Strunc (Washington State) and Ty Blankmeyer (St. John's) is simply becoming an opportunity for new players to step up.

At 41 wins, the Bullfrogs are just two victories shy of tying the franchise record in a single season set by the 2007 Bullfrogs.

Loggers Losses Mount; McCoy One Hit Away From History

La Crosse has now lost back-to-back games, starting with a loss against the Kalamazoo Growlers on Wednesday night.

With 11 hits yesterday on four runs, La Crosse did not have their best offensive performance, but still showed why they are the second best overall batting team in the league.

Mason McCoy (107 hits) was 1-for-5 yesterday, still one hit shy of breaking the record for hits in a single season in Northwoods League history.

The bottom third of the lineup was effective for Bill Sandillo' team in game one against Green Bay. Merritt, Trevino, and Baker combined to go 5-for-11 with two runs and three RBI.

Lundquist and Pearce each contributed two hits, but neither drove in a run or scored.

Starting pitching is still a major issue for the Loggers, and it may be too late in the season to address. Back end starter Nolan Gromacki (Missouri) left the ball high in the zone against a Bullfrogs team that touched him up for three runs in five innings.

Gromacki, like others in the La Crosse starting staff, has had to join the rotation after it was thought he would serve as a bullpen arm. As several starters have underperformed, the Loggers have been forced to wield 20 different starting pitchers this summer.

With last night's 7-4 loss, the Loggers team ERA now stands at 4.91. It was the fifth time in six games in which the Loggers have given up six runs or more.

La Crosse still has an outside chance of capturing the third playoff slot, 2.5 games behind Green Bay, but will be on the road for their first post-season game regardless.

Green Bay next plays the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters on Saturday for a 6:05PM first pitch from Witter Field.

Single game tickets and playoff tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbaybullfrogs.com to purchase tickets. The Bullfrogs are now accepting deposits for seven-game pack, season ticket and group outing for the 2016 season. To place a deposit, please contact Derek McCarty at (920) 497-7225 or derek@greenbaybullfrogs.com. The Bullfrogs' business hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.




Images from this story

Robb Paller of the Green Bay Bullfrogs
Robb Paller of the Green Bay Bullfrogs
   



Northwoods League Stories from August 7, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Green Bay Rockers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central